2017 The Lap

We arrived at Lakeside Caravan Park, Kununurra on Tuesday 25th to a delightful setting right on the lake.  We heard a croc was in the water, but figured it would be a little freshie.  This morning we heard it was sunning itself by the picnic table, just a few sites down from us.  It wasn't the "little freshie" we thought it would be! I know - never smile at a crocodile! He was a big one - ~ 2 metres long, named "George". A drive to the Hoochery, via a camping and fishing store - and an aboriginal art gallery was delightful although tasting the runs wasn't quite like a wine tasting.  For a $10 paddle you got 10 ml each of your chosen three rums - quite miserly we thought.  But the barramundi lunch made up for any small disappointment. Kununurra Hoochery Our visit to the sandalwood store didn't enlighten us at all about its growth and production which was a shame.  Chunks of the timber could be purchased for between $80 and $800 but figur...

We arrived at Lake Argyle Resort not expecting to get into a decent site, but we lucked out for the last two powered sites - with "uninterrupted views"!  It was so lovely we extended our stay by one extra night. Lake Argyle and the Durack Family Homestead The bridge leading into Lake Argyle affords a magnificent sight of the Ord River spillway.  No crocs to be seen. The infinity pool is a real treat - and everyone strikes a pose at the edge of the pool where it looks like you're swimming into Lake Argyle.  We took a tour of the Lake which included morning tea and lunch and some of us enjoyed searching for pieces of ochre the aboriginals use for body painting ... All aboard ready for the trip A rock wallaby looking for some food Found some! ... and some of us enjoyed a swim in the Lake! A glorious swim in Lake Argyle On our tour, we heard that despite the heavy rainfall during the "wet", the "dry season" reduced t...

Monday 17 July Our thoughts are with the grandies heading back to school today for third term (and Daniel tomorrow), and missing them all. Also thoughts are with Cat and Keith returning to classes and Jenny and Cameron, no doubt with loads of stories to tell of their three week expedition.   I took a walk across the campground heading for a dip in the falls and I ran into a group of people standing around watching two 4' brown snakes slither across the cut grass!    Yikes! They were really quite thin and they were well camouflaged by the fallen brown leaves.   Our piece of paradise at Edith Falls Edith Falls Our inverter finally carked it completely on the Oodnadatta Track. Thankfully AOR finally came to agree with us that spending $2,000 to have a Redarc 2000 watt inverter fitted in Katherine was a better option than them flying in a 1000 watt inverter to Derby and a final replacement 2000 watt inverter into Broome.    We were well a...

Saturday 15 July  We awoke at the roadside camping ground to hear, "Between 5.30 and 7.30 this morning there were 72 cars, trucks or road trains passing up or down the highway"!   Attack Creek  is famous for the fatal attack in early 1870 by a local aboriginal man on John Milner who was an early explorer.    Clearly some people are not happy with the    story boards that tell this part of the history as they have been defaced and obscenities scrawled on them.  Renner Springs  is said to mark the place where the Red Centre desert gives way    to the tropical Top End of Australia.    The place is named after Dr Fred Renner who was the doctor to the workers on the Overland Telegraph Line.  Daly Waters  is full of history - The explorer John McDouall Stuart stopped at Daly Waters on his journey from north-south across Australia and ten years later the Overland Telegraph Line went through. The co...

MARREE Roads closed. Night in Oasis caravan park.    Dinner at pub - Joe Ahern fireside.  Joe Ahern - a bloke who travels around the outback singing for his supper basically.  Cat and Lorraine enjoyed his singing long into the night.  We were so taken with Joe's singing capabilities, we each bought one of his CD's the following morning.  He had left by the time Lorraine arrived at the store, so the storekeeper took her $10 and $3 for Joe to post his CD.  And aren't we all thrilled about that!!!!!  Cat and Keith have played his CD - much to Keith's disgust:  "Me and my brother - heading down the highway - down from the plains - down to Port Broughton - I drove a Norton - me brother drove a Matchless ... ... ... on and on it goes.  And it got into our heads :( COWARD SPRINGS We broke camp this morning at our usual time of 9 am and headed for Coward Springs. Headed on to Strangways Springs where we spent ~ 2 hours looking...

THE OLD GHAN   The Old Ghan Railway, originally called the Great Northern Railway, is a tale of great triumphs of pioneering Australians in a landscape of extremes. The Human Ghan Train! The Ghan opened the way into Australia's interior.    Unofficially called, The Ghan, it provided isolated residents with physical and emotional support being so far from civilisation. During WWII the railway was pushed to its limits yet barely a decade after peace resumed in 1945, it was rejected.   There are many sidings along the highway, many are dilapidated and defaced by taggers: THE CURDIMURKA SIDING The CURDIMURKA Siding, dating from 1888, is the last remaining station of significance left intact on the old Ghan Railway and includes station yard, water tank, fettlers' cottages and the nearby Stuart Creek Bridge, the second longest bridge. 3 O'Clock Creek Camping Ground - Dalhousie Springs   After a lazy start to the d...

Wednesday 5 July After several hours spent in the laundry we hit the road for Uluru.    Over 2,000 people were in the main campground and the same in the "overflow" we decided to free camp ~15 km from Uluru resort. The sight of the Big Rock was something that took Lorraine's breath away.   Our campsite - and it was all free! Thursday 6 July Another bucket-list item crossed off today, Uluru!    Lorraine has always wanted to climb the Rock and have been conflicted knowing the aboriginal owners of the land don't want us to, but it seems that those who say we shouldn't climb it have already done it themselves, years ago. So Lorraine started the climb with Keith and Cameron while the others chose to do the ranger walk around the base of the a Rock. After nearly reaching the chain, Lorraine's boot came off and after attempting to get it back on, without success, she decided to clean my back down and join in the remainder of the rangers walk and ...